New Zealand Bans Live Exports

Written by PETA | October 30, 2007

News flash! New Zealand has just banned the live export of animals from the country. This announcement comes only a few months after New Zealand farmers announced that they were ending the archaic practice of mulesing, which is a procedure where large chunks of flesh are cut from sheep’s hind quarters with no painkillers to prevent flies from laying eggs in their wrinkly skin. Kudos to New Zealand for taking the lead on both of these issues and setting the wool industry animal welfare bar a little bit higher.

Now it’s time for the Australian wool industry to pull its head out of the sand and get with the program. If New Zealand can make these two important changes in its entire wool industry in a matter of months, certainly Australia can follow suit. You can help make that happen by clicking here.

If you’re new to the blog or to this issue, there is a great overview of both mulesing and live export here.

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thank you NZ and PETA. It is time for Australia to learn more about animal welfare.I have seen smelly shipments of poor sheeps to Saudi Arabia from Adelaide1982.It was heart breaking.Is it truethat NZ did not approved live animal export to Saudi Arabia?I hope so!

A pity the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation doesn’t show similar leadership. It’s happy to accept donations raised at rodeos. Email them and tell them you won’t be donating while they support “entertainment” that encourages animal cruelty.

As I get older54 now the evil torturous behaviours of humans disturbs me even more each day.Any event which reduces any amount of animal sufferingis a great event . This is a wonderful victory for these captive creatures.My concern is that if they are not mueseling how are they now dealing with the flies and their eggs.I repectfully trust that PeTA are on it !regarding my initial comment on cruel humans I cant help it .”The better I get to know people the more I love my dogs”. Kudos to PeTA for their perserverance and the constant guidance they offer me.Its not a baaaaaaad day to be a sheep in New Zealand.

I am so happy for this great news!!! I beleive with all our great effort and signing petitions and not being afraid to speak up one day all animals should be treated with all the care and the love they deserve!!!!!!!!!!!

Good job guys!!! It’s days like this that make the protesting writing letters calling politicians donating money et…. all worth it. I’m glad that I’m in PETA. My goal however is to win the lottery and do it full time all day everyday. The fact that KINDNESS is spreading gets me exited. Our cause will only get bigger and stronger. Ingrid is right!! Movements only get stronger. My love to all of you people.

ana you are putting a few extra words in my mouth but yes sheep will have a more fulfiling life providing wool. The quandary being I prefer lamb to mutton. “humane slaughter is an oxymoron” Much better than inhumane slaughter though. michele sorry.

rojo Glad to see that you agree with the fact that slaughtering sheep and lambs is an abomination and that humane slaughter is an oxymoron. The only solution is to not eat them or wear them and that includes not only their wool but their skin as well. Eliminating live exports is just one form of extreme cruelty that these docile lovable creatures will no longer have to endure in NZ and across the oceans under miserable conditions. Wear your own skin enjoy vegan meals and let others live!

oh my god!! this is great!! Thanks to everyone who sent off emails to the NZ govt. and to anyone who does their part for animals!! this is also a wonderful step in the right direction!! Im so happy. true many will suffer but many will live as well. it feels like a lose lose situation sometimes but these actually are huge baby steps and for that I am thankful!!

ana good point of the 45 million sheep in NZ only 3 million are involved in merino fine wool production and as such were candidates for mulesing. It pales in comparison to the 24 million lambs slaughtered annually. Support wool production to curb sheep meat expansion.

Although I don’t personally wear wool I will still write to the Australian Government urging them to follow suit. In the meantime I will tell everyone I know that if they must buy wool they should look for wool from New Zealand and not from Australia.

Rojo with all the animal suffering we hear day in and day out I think everyone here deserves a little good news on occasion. Even if the reasoning behind it is just for business sense and not moral sense.

Yes live exports end and that’s good news but lets not forget that the sheep will ultimately be slaughtered and that is an abomination! Humane slaughter is an oxymoron. The ultimate goal is to end the slaughter of the sheep don’t forget the big picture.

So you think NZ bred barebummed sheep in a matter of months? I think not. They were in a position to stop mulesing because their 3 million head merino flock now displays this trait. I think it is underhanded to expect Australia to suddenly be able to breed out to 100 million sheep. They’ve already said they will end the practise by 2010 there is no overnight solution. As far as NZ live exports go these have been basically limited to breeding animals for several years. Retaining genetics in NZ rather than exporting to China etc seems like good business sense for NZ. As far as I can gather they are suspended pending review.

While I imagine the “industry” is bigger in Australia cognizant buyers of wool items who demand more humane treatment of animals will buy New Zealand wool in preference to the Aussie variety. Hopefully economic pressure will force Australia to follow NZ’s lead.

New Zealand had a big part in hand with the live export and mulesing as like their counterparts Australia and it’s only a matter of time that useless suffering of mulesing will end! But it’s never over until it’s over! And we have to keep up the pressure and never stop until the biggest in the business stops altogether! Go Pink go and others alike! This is a Big step ahead in the right direction!

Another important step forward. New Zealand has shown it is leading the way for a more compassionate look at the livestock issue. Australia the UK and others should bow their heads in shame. Congrats to PETA CWF and everyone who has campaigned for so long and last but not least the forward looking Government of New Zealand.

what a great day! step by step the truth is marching on and this thanks to PETA the Humane Society IDAUSA and all the other animal protecting societies in the world but also thanks to celebrities like Joaquin Phoenix Brigitte Bardot Pamela Anderson and all the famous and not so famous animal lovers around the globe who are fighting continuously this great and hard fight for a just cause! one day we shall overcome and bring justice to GOD’s creatures which are HIS property alone!!! i embrace the whole PETAteam!!!

Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights? Read more.